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Rare birds raise hopes for annual Audubon counts

A scissor-tailed flycatcher is shown at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Shiloh Marshes in Volusia County. Bird enthusiasts in Flagler and Volusia counties will join thousands nationwide in the coming weeks for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count.

Published: Sunday, December 9, 2012 at 7:09 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, December 9, 2012 at 7:09 p.m.

Birdwatchers from all over Central Florida have flocked to Volusia County in recent weeks, hoping for a glimpse of a few very unusual birds seen in the area.

The bird sightings include a scissor-tailed flycatcher, a red-throated loon and red-breasted nuthatches, and span an area from the Tomoka Basin to Canaveral National Seashore.

"There have been a lot of interesting birds around," said local expert birder Michael Brothers, who has captured images of the flycatcher.

Members of local Audubon chapters hope a few of the birds might be in a place to be counted during the Audubon Christmas Bird counts that start Friday.

A bird a little less unusual but no less important was spotted in Palm Coast, and the coordinator of the Flagler Christmas Bird Count hopes he'll see it again during their Audubon chapter count, the first of the season locally.

"About a week ago, we took a short walk on the Lehigh Trail and saw a juvenile red-headed woodpecker," Walter Mahler said. "We haven't had one of those yet during the five years we've been doing the count."

The trail is in the count area he'll cover Friday and he hopes to see it again.

"Let's hope we have good weather," said Mahler, who once was among a group of Flagler birders counting from the beach in the rain on a cold December day.

On Saturday, during the West Volusia count, Stetson professor David Stock will be looking for a Baltimore oriole reported by a staff member a few days ago.

"It's not out of the question," Stock said. He thinks an oriole was seen near the same spot in DeLand about six years ago.

"But I'll be looking for everything," said Stock.

Each Christmas Bird Count across the nation covers a 15-mile diameter count circle, the same area every year.

Four counts take place locally. In addition to the Flagler and West Volusia counts, counts take place for Southeast Volusia in Ponce Inlet and New Smyrna and for East Volusia in the Halifax River area. The chapters invite local residents, even those who aren't experienced birdwatchers, to participate.

The counts begin early in the morning and usually last all day.

National Audubon officials said the count is the longest-running citizen science wildlife survey in the world. It began in 1900 as an alternative to a holiday bird hunt. Dr. Frank Chapman suggested counting birds instead of shooting them.

Last year, the count broke several previous records, Audubon officials said. A total of 63,223 people helped conduct 2,248 counts, tallying more than 60 million birds. Counts took place in every state and Canadian province, as well as 99 other locations, including Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific islands.

"This is not just about counting birds," Audubon's chief scientist Gary Langham said.

Data collected in the count has been used in "hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific studies and inform decisions by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of the Interior, and the EPA," Langham said.

For example, the bird counts have shown declines in species, such as the northern bobwhite, and changes in patterns that scientists attribute to climate change. The count also helped document increases in other species, such as the bald eagle.

This year for the first time, participants will no longer have to pay $5 to participate. The fee, which covered the cost of compiling and printing the annual international count in a booklet, goes away this year because the booklet will only be published online.

Stock, who started the West Volusia count in 1975, said he wasn't surprised by the switch to electronic reporting.

"That's the way things are going," he said. In academic circles, some professional journals are only printed online and they are recognized the same as any printed journal, he said.

The scissor-tailed flycatcher and the nuthatches, which have only been reported in Volusia County a few times in the past, have been seen at Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge, too far south to be counted in the Ponce Inlet count.

But David Hartgrove, with the Halifax River Audubon chapter, hopes to pick up red-breasted nuthatches during the West Volusia count, where he'll be helping out.

"There has been such an eruption of them all over Florida," he said. "I'm always optimistic and we always hope for something unusual."

But seeing an unusual bird triggers a bit of a complex process. To try to protect the scientific nature of the count, state compilers require photographic proof and lengthy documentation for really unusual birds.

<p>Birdwatchers from all over Central Florida have flocked to Volusia County in recent weeks, hoping for a glimpse of a few very unusual birds seen in the area. </p><p>The bird sightings include a scissor-tailed flycatcher, a red-throated loon and red-breasted nuthatches, and span an area from the Tomoka Basin to Canaveral National Seashore. </p><p>"There have been a lot of interesting birds around," said local expert birder Michael Brothers, who has captured images of the flycatcher. </p><p>Members of local Audubon chapters hope a few of the birds might be in a place to be counted during the Audubon Christmas Bird counts that start Friday. </p><p>A bird a little less unusual but no less important was spotted in Palm Coast, and the coordinator of the Flagler Christmas Bird Count hopes he'll see it again during their Audubon chapter count, the first of the season locally. </p><p>"About a week ago, we took a short walk on the Lehigh Trail and saw a juvenile red-headed woodpecker," Walter Mahler said. "We haven't had one of those yet during the five years we've been doing the count." </p><p>The trail is in the count area he'll cover Friday and he hopes to see it again. </p><p>"Let's hope we have good weather," said Mahler, who once was among a group of Flagler birders counting from the beach in the rain on a cold December day. </p><p>On Saturday, during the West Volusia count, Stetson professor David Stock will be looking for a Baltimore oriole reported by a staff member a few days ago. </p><p>"It's not out of the question," Stock said. He thinks an oriole was seen near the same spot in DeLand about six years ago. </p><p>"But I'll be looking for everything," said Stock. </p><p>Each Christmas Bird Count across the nation covers a 15-mile diameter count circle, the same area every year. </p><p>Four counts take place locally. In addition to the Flagler and West Volusia counts, counts take place for Southeast Volusia in Ponce Inlet and New Smyrna and for East Volusia in the Halifax River area. The chapters invite local residents, even those who aren't experienced birdwatchers, to participate. </p><p>The counts begin early in the morning and usually last all day. </p><p>National Audubon officials said the count is the longest-running citizen science wildlife survey in the world. It began in 1900 as an alternative to a holiday bird hunt. Dr. Frank Chapman suggested counting birds instead of shooting them. </p><p>Last year, the count broke several previous records, Audubon officials said. A total of 63,223 people helped conduct 2,248 counts, tallying more than 60 million birds. Counts took place in every state and Canadian province, as well as 99 other locations, including Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific islands. </p><p>"This is not just about counting birds," Audubon's chief scientist Gary Langham said. </p><p>Data collected in the count has been used in "hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific studies and inform decisions by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of the Interior, and the EPA," Langham said. </p><p>For example, the bird counts have shown declines in species, such as the northern bobwhite, and changes in patterns that scientists attribute to climate change. The count also helped document increases in other species, such as the bald eagle. </p><p>This year for the first time, participants will no longer have to pay $5 to participate. The fee, which covered the cost of compiling and printing the annual international count in a booklet, goes away this year because the booklet will only be published online. </p><p>Stock, who started the West Volusia count in 1975, said he wasn't surprised by the switch to electronic reporting. </p><p>"That's the way things are going," he said. In academic circles, some professional journals are only printed online and they are recognized the same as any printed journal, he said. </p><p>The scissor-tailed flycatcher and the nuthatches, which have only been reported in Volusia County a few times in the past, have been seen at Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge, too far south to be counted in the Ponce Inlet count. </p><p>But David Hartgrove, with the Halifax River Audubon chapter, hopes to pick up red-breasted nuthatches during the West Volusia count, where he'll be helping out. </p><p>"There has been such an eruption of them all over Florida," he said. "I'm always optimistic and we always hope for something unusual." </p><p>But seeing an unusual bird triggers a bit of a complex process. To try to protect the scientific nature of the count, state compilers require photographic proof and lengthy documentation for really unusual birds.</p><p></p><p> </p><p>To volunteer for the bird count, email the contacts listed below:</p><p>Dec. 14, Flagler Christmas Bird Count, walter.mahler@gmail.com</p><p>Dec. 15, West Volusia Christmas Bird Count, dstock@stetson.edu</p><p>Dec. 22, Halifax River Audubon, birdman9@earthlink.net</p><p>Dec. 29, Southeast Volusia Audubon Bird Count, president@sevolusiaaudubon.org</p><p> </p><p></p><p>To find a count, visit birds.audubon.org/get-involved-christmas-bird-count .</p>